Describe a health problem you once had.

[You will have to talk about the topic for one to two minutes. You have one minute to think about what you're going to say. You can make some notes to help you if you wish.]

Model Answer 1:

It is well known that health is considered as wealth. Everyone needs a good health and this is the precondition for a happy life. But once, when I was a teenager, I suffered from a health issue. I had a kidney stone and that was crushed.

Kidneys are considered as the filter for the human body and they may get damaged if the filter does not work in the right manner. Many of the people are suffering from kidney diseases and they did not take care of them. The key reason behind the kidney damage or disease is not taking proper care of the body, avoiding plenty of water and more. I also suffered from the kidney disease and fortunately, it was a minor one. Stones developed in my right kidney and the doctors told me that it had happened to my wrong lifestyle. In fact, they were right. I did not have a standard lifestyle rather I was unconventional than the other people. I did not drink enough water for a day, skipped meals, smoked too many cigarettes and much more. Often I skipped my breakfast and supper. For all such reasons, my body falls victim to the health disorder.

Before being diagnosed with the kidney stone, I felt severe pain in my right abdomen and particularly on the spots where the right kidney is located. Vomiting was another symptom with me. But as I did not have the idea that this might be related to kidney issues, I took some painkillers and felt comfortable. But after some days, I felt the trouble again. There was severe pain in the same place that made me mad almost. So, I went to a local doctor here and he also prescribed me a pain killer and injected me with some serums that reduced the pain level. I was fine for a few days and met the doctor again. This time, he asked me to have some tests and the X-ray discovered that there is a stone in my right kidney which is blocking the way of filtering water on the body.

Thereby, it was necessary for me to remove the stone. I was astonished how it developed inside the kidney. I heard about it to others that they were suffering from kidney stones. I laughed at them. This time, it was their chance to laugh at me. I also underwent some other tests to be confirmed about the stone and all the tests had the same report. So, I decided to remove the stone and consulted with a specialist doctor about my kidney issue. The doctor said that there are two ways to remove the kidney. The first way is that I could have an operation where they will penetrate into my belly and somehow bring out the stone and the second one was to insert a crusher through my reproductive organ and crush the stone smoothly. I am afraid of surgeries and operations. So, I agreed with the second option and went for it. On a fixed date, I entered into the operation theatre and it was done without any troubles.

It was unbearable to me to tolerate the pain when that attacked me. I could not control myself and often it happened that I pressed the part of my body to get relieved of the pain. I could not have imagined that I will be a patient of kidney disorders but it was a bad luck for me. I had to run after the doctors and most of the times the pain attacked me in the night times and it became difficult for me to find a doctor in that particular moment. Though I went to the hospitals, there were no specialised doctors in the midnight and the present medical officers were unable to make the right decisions. So, they only treated me with some painkillers and injections to control the pain. But once the stone was crushed, I felt relieved of the trouble. Now I do not have to run during the midnight to find a doctor. However, the doctors advised me to be aware of the issue in the future. They also advised me to take proper diets and plenty of water in a day. They also told me to cut the smoking as that is a highly harmful activity for kidneys. I try to follow their advice in the present days and been living a trouble-free healthy life.

Cue Card Answer 2:
Allergy is one of the worst things I have experienced in my life. A couple of months ago, I had to suffer a lot from allergy and now I have recovered from the health disorder.

There are several types of allergy and the allergy that attacked me was from dust. I got the disorder from my mum, she is highly allergic to some specific foods and dust. I think I inherited the symptoms genetically. I did not notice the issue before until I was attacked by allergy recently. Different parts of my body were irritating me and only itching on the spots brought the relief. Sometimes, my fingers, lips and thighs turned red.

The allergy attacked me at any time of the day when I was in slight touch with dust or took any of the allergic foods unconsciously. Even today, having beef or shrimp is forbidden for me though I loved them much before the allergic attack. Besides, I have to use face mask before going out. I am unable to take breath opening my mouth fearing the entrance of dust which may trigger the allergy. I have to remain careful always about the issue. In fact, it is irritating for me to carry a face mask, abstain from taking my favouring foods and more other issues. In a word, I had to be more cautious about the lifestyle that I never did before the allergy was triggered. Thereby, it was a bit difficult for me to adjust to the new lifestyle like taking foods at home, be careful when going out, keeping myself away from dust etc.

Doctors said that allergy is never cured rather the patients with allergy are advised to keep it under control. Accordingly, he prescribed me some medications and some other necessary advice. After the prescription, I had to take medications twice in a day, one in the morning and the remaining one in the night. I had to continue the medications for around three consecutive months. It is really difficult to have medicines for three months continuously. I have tried to give up the medications but found that if I miss a single dose, I am attacked with the allergy. So, it was a must for me to take the medicines in time.

I was worried about the allergy attack when I discovered it. Then I had met with several doctors and they asked me to have some blood tests. The tests found that the allergy was in my blood which is a serious issue and could be triggered by the slightest favourable environment for allergy. When I woke up in the morning and found my lips were doubled in size and shape for allergy, it was horrible for me and I could not go to my college that day. It took long times for the allergy to neutralise. The days were worst in my life. With the grace of Almighty, now the allergy is under control. The doctor has advised me to continue the medications for two more months as the allergy in blood, it takes unusual time get controlled.

Sample Answer 3:
Physical fitness is the most important thing on the planet and those who are suffering from health disorders, they know the truth of the statement. Recently, I had a food poisoning and suffered for about one week. I know how it feels to be diagnosed with health disorder. Thank you for the question and I will describe the matter now in brief.

Food poisoning is a serious health disorder. It may be so acute that it can claim lives. I was lucky in the sense that doctor prescribed only bed rest for few days and some medicines to cure of the disorder. In fact, it was my fault that I took some rotten foods in street during a fieldwork of my university. Actually, being the student of Anthropology, I need to move in fields for practical works. Besides, this is my last semester and the number of field visits is more. During such a field visit, I had to take foods from a street shop which caused the trouble to me.

I went to visit Lal Bangla, an archaeological site near Delhi to know about the remains. In fact, I was in a team of three other members to collect all the available information about this Mughal remains. So, we started early in the morning and planned to return by noon. But it was not possible for me to take my breakfast. On the other side, none of us took any foods expecting to take it on the way to Lal Bangla. As a result, we stopped in a place near the mausoleum and took our breakfast. The foods were below the standard but we had nothing to do. After completing all the tasks like taking pictures, measuring the structures, drawing sketches, and gathering all the other information, we returned and took lunch at the same place where we took breakfast. Returning home, I felt an unbearable bowel movement and vomited severely. It was the only beginning of the disorder.

I also started feeling pain in the lower abdomen and it was so acute that I started crying. So, my father went to a local pharmacy and the man the suggested to shift me to a hospital. Accordingly, my parents hospitalised me immediately to a local hospital where the doctors at the emergency diagnosed me as a food poisoning patient. So, they injected me with a painkiller and prescribed some tests. Once the tests were done, they were sure that it was nothing other than food poisoning. So, they suggested to keep in the hospital for at least a day and also said that if my condition improved, I could be taken to the home. But I had to stay two days in the hospital as the deteriorating conditions did not improve. On the third day, the condition was a bit stable and then I left the hospital for home.

I felt too weak during the entire period of health disorder. I had to stay at home for about over one week. In this time, my regular movement was forbidden. Even it was difficult for me to move alone to take baths and other activities. My mother was always beside me and helped me a lot. She fed me like a little kid and did all the other necessary activities. I was completely recovered in the 11th day since I was affected by the poisoning. It was a lesson for me and I have pledged that I will never take foods on the street.

If you can talk about the cue card topic "Describe a health problem you once had." you should be able to talk about the following IELTS cue cards as well: